RADIO DAYS - You had your time, you had the power...

U.S Release Date: JANUARY 30, 1987

It was a time before we all carried TV screens in our pockets, before the personal lives of every celebrity had become the white noise of our vacuous downtime. They were the radio days, when families would gather around the wireless and listen as drama, comedy, adventure, real and imagined - the very essence of life - warmed their existence.

Woody Allen’s melancholy love letter to the Rockaway Beach of his youth and the role that the premiere ‘content delivery device’ of the early ‘40s played in his upbringing was an Oscar-nominated critical darling when released in early ‘87.

Lovingly crafted and filled with many of Allen’s ensemble players (Dianne Wiest, Mia Farrow, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts), RADIO DAYS provides the director (omnipresent in voiceover) with a vividly-realised backdrop for a series of skits and bits that paint a sentimental portrait of family and country.

Here’s the trailer (yes, that is a pre-teen Seth Green!):

The Podcast

There’s division in the ranks over Woody’s period piece, with Dan Barrett not entirely convinced of its enduring appeal facing off against and long-time Allen aficionado Simon Foster (watch his 2023 Screen Watching interview with the director):

Simon and Dan have undertaken to watch 100 movies from Jan-Dec 1987 to answer mankind’s most pressing question: Was 1987 the best movie year ever?

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE NOW: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Facebook
The video version of our show is available on both Spotify and YouTube.
Email us: podcast@bestmovieyear.com

Start your journey back to the heady days of that wonderful film year with past podcasts…
Episode 1: WITHNAIL & I
Episode 2: THE KINDRED
Episode 3: THE STEPFATHER
Episode 4: OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE

Coming Soon, on BEST MOVIE YEAR: 1987